Area Students Outperform State, Nation on SAT

By Amber Lester Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Historic Triangle’s high school class of 2010 exceeded the national and state average SAT scores.

In Williamsburg-James City County schools, graduating seniors had the best scores of the past five years, continuing an upward trend that began in the 2005-2006 school year. The number of test-takers decreased for the second year in a row, however; last year, 437 students took the test, compared to 445 the previous year. In York County, the number of students taking the test increased from 672 in 2009 to 704 in 2010.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), administered by the College Board, measures literacy, numeracy and writing skills needed for success in college. Each test on the SAT receives a score on the scale of 200 to 800.

Throughout Virginia, public school graduates increased their scores and outperformed the national averages on all three sections of the test. On average, Virginia’s graduates increased their critical reading and math scores by two points and increased their writing score by one point. Over the past decade, average SAT scores in Virginia have increased by five points in reading and 15 points in math. Nationally, the reading scores have declined four points in reading and gained one point in math.

Virginia students scored an average of 511 on the reading test, 513 on the math test and 496 on the writing test. Nationally, students scored an average of 501 on the reading test, 492 on the writing test and 516 on the math test.

The nationwide SAT average score was 1509, and Virginia’s average score was 1521, the same as last year. The average SAT score in both WJCC and York County schools was 1595, an increase for both divisions. Last year, WJCC’s average was 1576 and York’s was 1588.

WJCC Scores

WJCC’s 437 test-takers scored an average of 536 on the critical reading test, an increase of 11 points from the previous year. On the math test, WJCC students scored an average of 536, an increase of four points. In writing, WJCC students increased their scores to 523, up from 519 in 2009.

Jamestown High School posted the highest scores, with a mean score of 1655. Warhill, which just graduated its second class of seniors, had the lowest scores, with a mean score of 1503. Its lowest average score was on the writing test, on which Warhill students scored an average of 490.

“These test scores confirm the fact that continuous improvement is occurring across the board in our schools,” said Scott Burckbuchler, acting superintendent, in a press release. “We are pleased with the results, and we thank all teachers, support staff and students for the hard work that was necessary to achieve this outcome. At the same time, we dedicate ourselves to continuing to make improvements on behalf of our community’s students.”

York Scores

York County’s 704 test-takers scored an average of 540 on the critical reading portion of the test, a gain of one point over last year. In writing, York students scored an average of 517, the same score for the past two years. On the math test, York students achieved a score of 538, a two-point gain over last year.

Out of York County’s four high schools, York High’s 158 test-takers achieved the highest mean SAT score of 1617. Bruton’s 96 test-takers scored the lowest, with a score of 1501.